It’s National County Government Month!

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Joan Pitts, Special Deputy Customer Service Clerk 

“I love my job because I help make people happy. We provide services  to a diverse range of residents who aren’t sure what to expect when they arrive, but after they leave our office they are relieved, excited and really glad.”

DID YOU KNOW? - Passports:

• Passport photographs were not needed until after World War I.
• Wearing any type of uniform is not permitted in a passport photograph.
• In the future, passports will contain information in a digital format with biometric information using smart-card technology.

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Ida Ochoteco, Confidential Aide

“People ask me what is a Confidential Aide? It’s a diverse job that supports everything the Clerk does, and I’m never bored. I like helping residents in a variety of areas such as elections, weddings, and passports. I even proof the Spanish-speaking ballots before they are finalized to be printed. I also have to be knowledgeable about petitions, voting-by-mail, and other departments in the county so that I can correctly answer residents’ questions.”

DID YOU KNOW? - Elections:

• In New Jersey, women with property could vote until 1804 when their voting rights were then taken away until the 19th Amendment was ratified.  
• In 1807, New Jersey abolished property ownership requirements as a right to vote.
• At one time, only the armed services were allowed to vote-by-mail. Civilians were allowed to vote-by-mail for the first time Vermont in 1896. By 1938, 42 states allowed civilians to vote-by-mail.

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Falguni Joshi, Special Deputy Record Room Clerk

“My favorite part of the job is helping people find documents, deeds and mortgages, some of which date as far back as 1785. We are also responsible for transferring records to our online database that currently has records stored up to 1977.”

DID YOU KNOW? - Land Records:

• Land records include deeds, mortgages, liens, and property maps.
• The New Jersey state archives store land records that date back to the colonial times in 1650.
• In 1664 King Charles granted the lands that now make up New Jersey to his brother James, Duke of York.

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Christine Heckman, Bookkeeper

“I’ve seen a lot of positive changes over the years, which have made our office more efficient. Now it’s easier for residents to have access to information and our services, even during the pandemic. Beyond my routine job duties, I love working with the public.”

DID YOU KNOW? - Notaries:

• Tiro, a Roman slave living in 535, is considered to be the first notary who developed a shorthand system called notae.
• Women were not allowed to be notaries in America until the early 1900s.
• William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Jennifer Lopez have all served as notaries.